An Unlikely Alliance
by Esphyliad
Summary: Au. With the Dark Lord returned and prejudice turned on them full force, what will those Slytherins who are still loyal to the old ways do? Amidst magical creatures, Dark Lords, schoolwork and staying alive their seventh year at Hogwarts promises to be their greatest challenge yet.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story; all rights go to J.K Rowling for creating such a beautiful and amazing world.

24th August

Draco swept into the second lounge at Malfoy manor following the orders of his father and godfather. The room was long and thin with three tall windows at the end that looked out over the estates gardens and a high ceiling. Much like the rest of the manor the walls were made of a smooth light grey stone as was the floor. The walls were adorned with tasteful tapestries done predominately in tones of silver, green and blue and the same could be said for the antique couches and armchairs that lined the walls only broken up by the odd bookshelf or small table. At the end of the room nearest to the windows sat two of Draco's best friends, Pansy and Blaise. Stepping of the cold floor and onto the large rug that was patterned in the stars, he gave them a nod and a smile before taking a seat opposite the fire letting its radiant warmth quell the chill in his bones. The three sat in a companionable silence as they often did on cold mornings. This morning however was not a normal cold morning and their silence was soon interrupted by the sound of footsteps and the tell-tale swish of a robe. The door to the room was pushed open and two figures stepped in one with long straight blond hair and dressed in flowing robes of black and silver while the other had shoulder length black hair and was dressed in all black, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. They moved without a word until both were seated on armchairs either side of the fireplace. A small gesture with one hand had both Pansy and Blaise join Draco in front of them and then a small cough before they began.

"First I must express that what we speak of here today does not find its way to anyone else unless specified" Lucius began looking all three teenagers in the eye who all nodded eager to know what they had been called here for, "good now then I'll leave it up to your head of house to do the talking"

"As I'm sure you are all aware your families as well as a great many other have left the service of the Dark Lord" Severus said in a neutral tone wasting no time, "this action while it has dealt a serious blow to the Dark Lord has done nothing to calm suspicions about us" Draco huffed impatiently, this was all stuff they already knew. A stern look from his father stopped him from interrupting. "As I was saying" he continued despite the interruption, "the problem we now face is not only the Dark Lord's wrath but also the growing attitudes of hate and suspicion that is felt not only for us but all those of Slytherin"

"Is that really that much of a problem?" Pansy asked after a moments contemplation, "I mean as members of Pureblood society and Slytherin we've always faced these attitudes and have built the necessary defences to cope" Lucius turned to Pansy and nodded though he spoke to all three,

"That's true Pansy however we're not talking about simple school prejudices anymore, we're seeing these opinions spreading through the wider community" Pansy stopped and looked thoughtful before settling back into the couch a pensive look on her face. Draco and Blaise exchanged a small glance that didn't go unnoticed by the two elder slytherin's before turning to Severus.

"I understand the danger of being in the wider community but at Hogwarts there shouldn't be a problem unless…" Draco faded out for a few moments before a frustrated Blaise prodded him in the shoulder with demands to know "unless what?" A look from his godfather and father told him to put forth his idea. Taking a deep breath he launched into his explanation.

"Unless the attitudes and opinions of not only the students but teachers and parents as well are present at school, if that happens there may be extra prejudice toward us on a much larger scale. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff generally leave us alone but if they are influenced via outside forces then they too may actively turn against us" Draco took a small pause to gather his thoughts while the others looked on patiently "Teachers would be of little help perhaps overlooking minor incidents in the classrooms which would inevitably lead to inter-house aggression outside the classroom as well. In that situation it would be dangerous for any Slytherin to travel alone or even in groups" He stopped and looked at the others for their opinions. He couldn't read Severus or his father's faces whose were blank but he could see that Blaise could see his point as could Pansy who had come out of her thought in the middle of his speech.

"Very good Draco" Severus said his voice laced with a small hint of pride, "that is exactly the reason we called you here today. As the three heads of Slytherin it is your duty as well as my own to ensure the protection and safety of the house, especially that of the younger years who cannot protect themselves" Severus stopped talking when a house elf popped in with a small tray of biscuits and tea and he continued after it had left, "however, there's more to it than that" all four of his companions looked at him confused "Ah so Dumbledore hasn't told Lucius yet" he thought. "Very soon Dumbledore is going to go public with his anti-Dark Lord group the Order of the Phoenix, when that happens many of the Hogwarts teachers who are members including myself will be away from the school every so often on duty. This will leave Slytherin unguarded and others most likely students will use this as an opportunity to attack" Severus sat back and watched as his information settled in, Lucius's face was impassive but he could detect worry in his eyes, Draco, Blaise and Pansy were easier to read, all three were worried yet also determined. They sat in a ponderous silence before Pansy broke the silence.

"If what you say is true then what do you propose we do about it? We can hardly lock ourselves in the dungeons that would create too much suspicion but we can't leave it to chance"

"What we need is a way to know when and where the other houses are going to strike" Blaise muttered thinking aloud. Severus and Lucius nodded.

"But that would require some sort of intelligence network and something of that size won't stay secret for long" Draco reasoned "What we need is a small group of people who are trustworthy and can get the information directly from where it is needed. The Hogwarts grapevine is too unstable so we cannot depend on long chains of people that are too subject to change" Severus smirked, that had been his exact thoughts.

"So Draco, Pansy, Blaise who do you know would be able to get such information and still be trustworthy? Gryffindor pride as foolish as it is, is also the most effective anti-spy network, no one in that blasted house would ever spy on themselves. Ravenclaws are too cautious, even if they agree to it the moment tides turn against them or a situation goes wrong they back out. That leaves Hufflepuff and I think that speaks for itself, those dunderheads are too friendly and caring to spy though their loyalty would be helpful"

"Well that settles it then" Draco interrupted earning him some shocked looks, "What, you said it yourself Hufflepuff loyalty would be helpful, if we can earn that then there are no problems. They might not be as subtle as the Ravenclaws but they're also the last anyone would expect to spy for us bar Gryffindor. They also have the advantage of already being in the good books of Gryffindor even as far in as the golden trio-" Lucius held up his hand to quiet his son who stopped mid speech.

"All that you have said is true" Lucius spoke evenly in a tone that was neither berating nor accepting, "however even though by your logic, who in that house would be approachable and willing to listen without dismissing the idea outright. Their loyalty goes first to themselves and the other houses before Slytherin, so what stops them from blabbing your plan before it even gets underway?" That took the wind out of Draco's sails leaving him looking stumped. Everyone subsided into silence each trying to think of how they could make it work without jeopardising their situation even more. Lucius sat patiently not trying too hard to come up with a solution, he knew he could keep Draco safe and that was his only priority. Blaise stared out the window unseeing lost in thought while Pansy had pulled back into her pensive mode. Severus too sat patiently waiting for his young Slytherins to figure it out themselves; it would be good training for future problems though he would put his foot down if it was too risky. The silence stretched on for a while and Severus was about to break it when a soft gasp from Pansy garnered all their attention.

"I know who we could ask" she exclaimed as all their eyes swivelled to meet hers. They sat staring at her waiting for her to continue but she didn't and merely looked back until a raised eyebrow form her head of house forced her to continue. She huffed "fine don't ask" everyone sighed, that's what she was waiting for "I was going to suggest a certain Hufflepuff boy who doesn't act very Hufflepuff like" It clicked in everyone's heads, "of course" they all thought at once. It now seemed blatantly obvious; a Hufflepuff who displayed few of the Hufflepuff traits but was yet still one of the leaders of the house at the same time, and also a pureblood so would likely be more accepting of them.

"You speak of Zacharias Smith don't you?" Severus asked to which Pansy nodded, "Hmm, I suppose he would be the best option" he mused after a moment of thought, "I would still advise caution if you choose to pursue him as your confidant and you will have to be quite compelling in your arguments if you are to win him over, remember the Smith family is a respected family known well in many circles and their status has been rising slowly in the Pureblood world" The three teenagers nodded their understanding, neither adult would make the decisions for them; it was not only a test but necessary training for them. They had a week to plan.

Plan they did the full week with little rest, they had to make sure they had the best arguments as well as multiple back up plans if that failed. Their main problem was finding time when they could get to Zach alone. They had decided to have Blaise approach Zach seeing as he is a less well known Slytherin and had caused the Hufflepuff less grief over the years, though Draco and Pansy would be on standby if anything were to happen. Despite their joint love of planning and scheming they were extremely relieved when they had put together a sound plan with several contingency plans as well. They had had to do much research into Zacharias and his family and had to recall all their meetings with him in the past to best predict his responses. When they weren't plotting the three had spent minimal time relaxing and pooled all their other time into either figuring out specifics for how the intelligence network would function or helping to decrease their families bad names each in their own ways; Blaise's family held a banquet in their manor and invited all the 'light' wizards and witches to it, Pansy went to a good many public meetings and donated money to charities to do with the war including muggle ones and Draco spent a long time brewing potions for St Mungo's which was publicly announced in the Prophet. It had actually been on the last day before leaving for school when the plan was completed when Pansy found the solution to the problem they had been facing; how to approach and talk to Zacharias.

31st August

Draco had been brewing a deep cut healing salve for St Mungo's in bulk (he had four cauldrons of it already) when Pansy and Blaise unceremoniously burst into the room causing him to drop his carefully de-feathered raven feathers onto the floor ruining them. He scowled darkly at both of them, it had taken ten minutes to do that and now he had to start again.

"What is so important that you had to interrupt me? Just look at what you've done" Pansy just gave him a look that spoke troves of what she thought was important.

"We were just coming down to tell you that Pansy found the solution to our problem" Blaise stated excitedly not bothering with a mask in Malfoy manor, here appearances didn't matter so much. Draco's eyes perked up at the words and he beckoned for them to sit and explain while he worked. Pansy sat while Blaise perused the shelves that Draco had neatly stacked and labelled, taking a jar down every now and then and sniffing it. Ignoring Blaise's odd behaviour Pansy began to explain her solution to Draco.

"Well, the problem we had was how to talk to and approach Zacharias and so owing to my brilliant genius" this earned her a snort from Blaise and Draco which she too ignored "I figured out that we should approach him openly and in a friendly manner" Draco's mouth fell open and he stopped de-feathering for a moment.

"Don't worry I thought the same when she told me" Blaise assured him. Pansy continued,

"Well he's a Hufflepuff and while he doesn't have all their generic traits, the very essence of a Hufflepuff lies in their friendliness and we won't gain his trust or acceptance if we don't do the same back to him. He is a pureblood after all so if we can assume he will be fairly guarded and will be able to recognise our masks to an extent as well" Draco took the knowledge in and mulled it over for a few minutes while he continued his work, Pansy sat by patiently knowing she could be there for a while and Blaise went back to looking through the shelves. Finally Draco gave a singular nod to Pansy which was all the confirmation she needed, as for the rest she knew would go by the rest of the plan that had already been lain out in the previous days. There was not long now before they were to leave for Hogwarts and they still had much to do.

Zacharias Smith wandered around his small flat an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach and not from over or under eating. It made him feel nervous about the school year though for no known reason to him. For the most of the holidays Zach had spent his time between homework and trying to look after himself. When it became clear that Voldemort was once again at large and causing havoc his father had put forth the notion of withdrawing him from Hogwarts and hiding in their family manor which while not as old or grand as the more noble lineages manors, still carried the same blood wards effectively making it a small fortress. Zach had outright refused to be withdrawn from school but he couldn't stay at the manor and attended Hogwarts without risking its security so his father gave him a flat in muggle London that hadn't been used for some generations. It had taken quite some time and magic for him to clean it up and make it habitable though he did wish he could get some new furniture, family heirlooms or not they were ugly and uncomfortable.

This feeling had followed him around for about a week now and he couldn't quite pinpoint what was making him feel that way whether it was just nerves or something else. He knew his family didn't have any seer blood so it was impossible for the feelings to be some sort of prophecy but he couldn't help but let his mind wander to those thoughts. It definitely had to do with going back to school though. "I wonder if something will happen this year. Oh who cares anyway if something happens I'll deal with it then" he thought shaking his head to distract himself. Zach looked out the window and watched as the sun slowly slipped down wondering what the next day would bring.

1st September

Malfoy walked casually down platform nine and three quarters flanked either side by Pansy and Blaise. All three had their heads held high carefully ignoring the suspicious stares they got from everyone else on the platform minus the Slytherins of which there were few. No one had as of yet been openly aggressive but they knew it was only a matter of time likely on the train or after a few days of classes. The bulk of the stares came from Gryffindors all with hate and disgust in their eyes, less from Ravenclaw and a mix from Hufflepuff though to a much more subdued degree. Draco, Blaise and Pansy hauled their luggage onto the train intent on finding a good compartment to claim before they went hunting for Zacharias. Finding a compartment proved more difficult than they had thought. Every other student seemed to want to get in their way or take the compartment they had been looking at. When they finally got down to the end usually reserved for Slytherin their feet were sore and their tempers frayed.

Blaise slid the compartment door shut and shot a locking charm at it preventing any more situations where others would hurriedly sneak in and claim it was theirs first. As an added protection Pansy put a notice-me-not charm on the door and window to keep them hidden from nosy students. They sat down with Draco at the window with Pansy opposite him and Blaise to her left, after stowing away their non-essentials in the spots provided; anything with any real value was shrunk and put in small pouches that could be kept on the person that had been magically enlarged on the inside. Draco slid open the window to let the voices of other students and parents still on the platform drift in giving them some insight into their views. Many times they heard parents and older children telling their children and siblings "stay away from the Slytherins" or "keep your head down and 'they' won't bother you" with particular emphasis on they. More disturbing ones popped up every now and then that had them slightly worried such as; "don't worry about Slytherin house, they'll be dealt with" and perhaps the most worrisome they heard "if you have the opportunity to off with a little Death Eater take it, you won't be punished" That one unsurprisingly came from a Gryffindor. After having heard enough Pansy slid the window shut and put a fresh locking charm on and a silencing charm for both window and door.

The three Slytherins sat in silence each contemplating the things they had heard and how to deal with the new potential threats until at the exact moment the clock struck eleven, the Hogwarts Express let out a large plume of steam, the horn sounding and a sudden lurch told the passengers that the train had begun to move. Slowly the platform faded from view and they headed swiftly into the rolling green countryside. Draco turned his gaze from the outside world to his compartment and struck up a conversation with his friends.

"Your thoughts?" he asked knowing he need not elaborate. Pansy and Blaise waited to see who would speak first before with a small cough Pansy began talk.

"Well it seems that many of our predictions were true concerning our public image but" she paused thoughtfully "but there have been other comments which I'm sure you have noticed that seem more aggressive than what we had anticipated" It was Blaise's turn,

"I have to agree with Pansy" he said in a more laid back tone than her serious one, "I think after hearing first-hand the situation we'll have to make adjustments to the house to keep the younger years safe" Draco nodded,

"I thought as much. Our position at school is on a knifes edge it would seem. We will have to find a way to protect our own without closing ourselves off to the other houses. And our housemates will have to be on guard all the time in public without looking offensive so as not to create rumours" Blaise lent back while Draco and Pansy continued to talk about house plans and whatnot else, it really wasn't his cup of tea anyway. He would much prefer to just relax and see to what happens when it comes. "Not a very Slytherin attitude" a small voice in his head chided him. Blaise snorted gaining him the attention of Draco and Pansy who he waved off. "The sorting hat did consider putting me in Ravenclaw after all; it might have been my family that got me put into Slytherin. Not that it matters, I'm too cunning for Ravenclaw anyway" Blaise was daydreaming for quite a while it seemed before a light shake on his shoulder brought him back to the present.

"Blaise snap out of it" Draco said sternly shaking him more, "we can't afford to lower our guard like that not in public at least. Besides we have a prefect meeting in ten minutes so we need to get a move on" Blaise grunted softly but got up with Pansy and Draco and exited the compartment placing even more locking charms on the doors outside to prevent others from getting in and booby trapping the room. It was a short walk to the prefect compartment, having learnt from their earlier experience all three had their best don't-mess-with-me faces on and that seemed sufficient enough to ward off pranksters. With their luck the Slytherins arrived at the door at the same time as the three Gryffindors Potter, Granger and a Patil twin. Deciding to be polite they stood to one side of the door allowing the Gryffindors in first which only gained them an increased suspicious look. They entered the compartment which had been magically enlarged to find they were the last to arrive. In front of them was a large round table with seats all around and two larger seats at one side for the head boy and head girl. Draco took his seat in the head boy seat with Hermione sitting next to him in the head girl seat. With a quick glance around the room Draco took in the prefects he had to work with; Gryffindor was Potter and Parvati "Interesting no Weasel" Draco thought, from Ravenclaw there was Terry Boot and Cho Chang, from Hufflepuff was Zacharias Smith "How oddly fortunate" and Hannah Abbott and from Slytherin who Draco already knew was Blaise and Pansy.

Granger gave him an intense look of impatience as he surveyed the room which he noted and paid no attention to until she huffed angrily.

"By all means begin Granger" he drawled with a small hand motion "I know how eager you must be to begin your speech" Granger gave him a hard look before turning away and beginning.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, I am Hermione Granger the head girl and this is Ma-Draco Malfoy the head boy" her voice sounded sour when she said his name, "you have all been chosen to be prefects because your teachers believe you have what it takes to uphold not only your houses beliefs and values but also that of the schools." She paused for a breath "As our first order of business I would like to propose that in the name of improving the effectiveness of prefects that Gryffindor and Slytherin no longer be paired up together for prefect duties because, due to the enduring house rivalries students from each house tend to spend more time arguing than doing their assigned duty" Draco caught Pansy and Blaise's eyes and barely concealed a smile "nicely worded Granger but we know you just don't want your precious saviour exposed to us 'Slytherins' in case we corrupt him"

Draco stood up abruptly cutting off Granger and earning himself a handful of glares.

"I would have to agree with Granger" he stated a clear plan in his mind, "I propose that the new prefect teams be Hufflepuff and Slytherin and Gryffindor and Ravenclaw" Mild surprise showed on some of the faces in the room at his choices. Draco motioned for them to be quiet. "I say this because if we are to be efficient it makes sense to be closer to our dorms. To expand on Granger's idea I would like to change the patrol areas for prefects" Granger shot him a suspicious look but didn't say anything which must have taken more strength than Draco thought she had.

"I don't mind working with Slytherin" Hannah Abbott piped up blatantly ignoring Zacharias's shocked gasp; she had always had problems with Slytherin. Granger and Draco smiled together but for differing reasons.

"Good" Granger said "now before we move onto our usual details would you care to explain, quickly, your plan Malfoy?" Draco much to Granger's chagrin ignored her and continued where he had left off.

"My plan is simple, in order to increase the speed at which our duties can be performed it makes sense to have the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins patrol the lower floors and dungeons and the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors patrol the upper floors and towers due to each of the pairs having better knowledge about the areas they would be in charge of" Granger looked furious at having been ignored but Draco could see his idea had struck a chord in her. The rest of the meeting past quickly with the usual boring things to discuss, at the end Draco gave Granger a hastily written copy of his plans before leaving with Blaise and Pansy, all three were eager to return to their compartment to discuss the meeting.

Draco, Pansy and Blaise entered their compartment and spelled the door shut erecting privacy and anti-spying wards around the room. They had not much to discuss but their plans had to be altered already, as usual Draco took the lead in the conversation.

"Well it is obvious to say that today has been quite beneficial toward us" Pansy snorted at his general and plain assessment of the situation, "With Hufflepuff and Slytherin working together we will be able to form a more… intimate bond with them" Blaise caught onto what he was saying and proposed his own idea.

"If I am to befriend Smith then how about we switch up the pairings just a bit" Pansy cast him a look, she had been paired with Smith and Blaise with Abbott, "if we do that I will be able to get one on one time with Smith at least twice a week and Pansy, being a girl may be able to get Abbott to open up to her giving us another informant" Draco and Pansy nodded in agreeance and penned a letter to give Granger warning of the change not out of necessity for as Head Boy Draco's word was enough to make such changes but mostly just to keep her off their backs.

For a good while they sat in the compartment discussing changes they could make to Slytherin, a common idea being that they create an extra class to be taught by the seniors in the dorms. It would teach the younger Slytherins how to fight with particular emphasis on defence and working in teams. Also they had considered creating their own potions stockpile using some of the abandoned rooms in the dungeons and having ingredients owled in. After a time the conversation drifted to less important matter such as quidditch and Pureblood society balls in which Pansy and Blaise had an extremely heated debate concerning décor. Their argument had been approaching complete idiocy when a loud bang shook the train and brought it to a stop. Screams and shouts could be heard further down the train as well as the sound of spells. Draco quietly undid the locking spells on the door and inched it open so he could peer down the train. The corridor was filled with men with white mask, Death Eaters; one by one they were entering compartments and wreaking havoc. Already he could see some students beginning to fight back namely those who he had caught in Dumbledore's army the previous year. Indecision tore him, fight the Death Eaters and possibly earn some recognition as a 'good' guy or hide in the compartment like a coward waiting for them to rip open the door. The decision seemed easy but it wasn't until Blaise shot out of the compartment and began firing spells did he take action. Draco and Pansy joined him and soon had the Death Eaters occupied. Their formation soon had the Death Eaters pushed back into the Hufflepuff area with Draco casting defensive spells, Pansy healing both them and attacked students and Blaise shooting offensive spells.

Another spell struck Draco's shield causing him to shudder, maintaining a constant shield was draining. Behind him he could feel Pansy giving him some of her magic while she was healing a girl who had been struck and knocked unconscious.

"Confringo!" Blaise shouted causing a bolt of orange light to shoot out of his wand towards the Death Eaters. It missed but the explosion it caused knocked two to the ground and made the other three retreat a few steps. "These aren't trained Death Eaters" he thought as he stunned one of the fallen. Before he could do anymore three stunners flew toward them, the first struck Draco's shield causing it to buckle and the other hit Pansy. The last missed and scorched the floor behind them. Draco struggled to stand having been knocked over by the stunner that broke his shield.

"This is bad" Blaise said worriedly, it was four against him and Draco who was nearly out of power. Not sure what to do he used the first spell that came to mind, Fera Verto. One of the men was hit and convulsed oddly before transforming into a goblet the size of a small child. Before they could reverse it Draco shot a weak blasting curse and shattered the goblet. Draco slumped to the side having fainted after using the last of his magic. Blaise panicked and used bombarda to destroy the corridor before grabbing Draco and Pansy and hauling them into the nearest compartment which luckily was empty. Blaise then cast every locking charm, shield spell and ward he knew on the compartment in the hopes it would hold out long enough for help to come. Blaise waited with bated breath facing the door with his friends behind him. Outside he could hear footsteps approaching and see shadows flickering on the opposite wall cast by the fires started with his spell.

The last three Death Eaters came into view and turned to the door, one however was completely covered which he hadn't noticed before, not even a wand or mask could be seen. One reached for the handle and tried to pull it open only to have his hand cursed by a dark spell Blaise had put on it. The man screamed in agony as an invisible fire spread over his body burning all his skin before he crumpled to the ground in an ashen heap. The cloaked one tried next and with speed that his eyes couldn't follow tore the door out of the frame. Blaise gulped and backed up thinking it was surely his end. From the side a spell hit the other Death Eater petrifying him. The cloaked on turned slightly and sniffed and Blaise saw as the hood slipped a white flash of teeth. He paled and shrunk back terrified; the hooded figure noticed this and reached out with one hand to grab him. For an instant as the hand moved toward him the sleeves inside was exposed and using his quick instincts Blaise levelled his wand toward the hand and shouted "LUMOS SOLEM". A burst of sunlight streamed out of his wand and up the leave burning off the limb up to the shoulder and causing the figure to howl in pain and turn down the corridor and run blood dripping on the ground. Down the hall it ran toward a bloody figure that had petrified his companion. Blaise limped out the door to shout a warning but saw it was too late. The hooded figure roughly restrained the boy and bit down on his neck. Blaise aimed for another burst of light but his hand wouldn't stay steady the shock of the situation settling in. The cloaked man, now definitely confirmed as a vampire, threw down the boy having both drained his blood and infected him at the same time; his arm grew back a trait unique to vampires who have drunk Pureblood blood before it fled out the window careful to avoid the sunlight.

Blaise rushed as fast as his injured leg would allow him to the fallen boy who laid breathing weakly in the mess of the corridor. In other parts of the train fighting could still be heard but Blaise didn't care, he needed to help this boy and if anyone saw him acting un-Slytherin like then it could only serve to help his reputation on the side of the light. Blaise reached the boy and conjured some bandages which he wrapped around his neck to help staunch the bleeding that flowed out of the two big holes in his neck. After doing that he cast a quick cleaning spell to get the blood off his face which was obscuring his features. Blaise almost dropped him when he saw who it was. Cursing loudly he used what strength he had left to haul him back to the compartment. Outside he could see Aurors arriving with healers in tow and resolved to quickly cover his neck wound up, if they found out the boy was a vampire or he would be soon, he'd be thrown out of wizarding society. Blaise was having no luck; he was out of magic so he quickly opened up an abandoned trunk and pulled out a Hufflepuff scarf thankful they were in the Hufflepuff area on the train. He finished wrapping it around his neck when healers entered the compartment. Within several tense moments all their major wounds had been healed and Draco and Pansy taken by portkey to Hogwarts.

Blaise sat still until the boy turned to look at him.

"What the hell happened" he murmured slowly. Blaise turned to him, his usually blonde hair was stained with blood and his skin usually lightly tanned was almost grey.

"Smith" he began unsure how to break the news; then he remembered Pansy's plan of being open and friendly "Zach um… I'm unsure how to tell you this but…" acting natural was harder than he thought. Zach groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position.

"I don't care what it is just tell me, and please shut the curtain the suns quite warm" Blaise instantly jumped up and drew the curtain across startling Zach. He hadn't thought the transformation would be so quick, either the Vampire had been extremely strong or Zach had a weak immune system.

"Alright then, Smith… err Zach you were… bittenbyavampire" Blaise waited to see the other boys reaction. Zach sat there quietly for a few minutes his mind processing what had happened before he uttered a single word filled with despair and hopelessness "okay". He was shocked, no one not even a Pureblood family who had magical creature blood would have reacted that calmly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he questioned. Zach nodded.

"Yeah… I'm okay"

"You don't sound it" Blaise was starting to get the hang of the friendly conversation thing 'you do realise what has happened don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Zach snapped "I was bitten by a Vampire and now I'm doomed to be cast out of the wizarding world as a dark creature, disowned by my family and have to live in dark forests and caves so I don't burn up in the sun" Blaise thought on what he had said, it seemed he wasn't the usual Hufflepuff stupid and knew the consequences, however there was something he hadn't thought of. Blaise thought quickly a small plan forming in his mind, he only hoped it worked.

"While those are what would usually happen you are lucky enough to have had your bite be a secret" Zach looked up from the floor a confused look on his face "No one but you and I know that you're a Vampire and on top of that there are certain potions that can be made so you are not affected by the sun" Zach perked up some twisted sort of hope evident in his eyes.

"Really, that's great? Now all we have to do is not tell anyone and I can order in as many of those potions as I need"

"Actually you can't" Zach's mood dimmed a bit "if you ordered them in eventually someone would either find one in your dorm or get your mail if it goes to the wrong person, your purchases can also be tracked so your family would know what you are buying" Zach looked downcast.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that"

"However" Blaise continued "my fellow Slytherins and I would be able to work out a deal for you" Zach was looking at him cautiously but quickly weighed up the pros and cons.

"What sort of deal?" Blaise smiled, if he could get him to agree to this all their problems concerning Zach's loyalty would be over.

"Well you see my compatriot Draco Malfoy is quite the potions master and could discreetly make all the potions you need which could also be delivered in person. On top of that Pansy would be able to control the rumour mill about your sudden inability to eat garlic, be in strong sunlight or use silver utensils. Professor Snape will also be able to help by removing any potions containing silver from the curriculum. In return all we ask for is your loyalty to us" Zach looked thoughtful until the last where he turned suspicious.

"What do you mean loyalty to you?" he asked giving him a hard look clearly expecting some sort of deceit. "Alright time to try Pansy's idea of being vulnerable"

Blaise sighed "What I mean by that is that we need people that we can rely on outside of our house. I don't know if you've noticed, though I don't know how you couldn't, but people are getting hostile toward us" Blaise started to let a pleading tone into his voice "we're just trying to ensure the younger years protection and we can't do it without allies, friends. If you're willing to help us, to stand against the prejudices we face then we will do everything we can to help you" Blaise tapered off to let Zach think.

And Zach thought. "It seems so tempting, if they can do what he says they can then everything will be fine. I'm not sure though, it involves telling at least three people about my- my condition. And the loyalty to Slytherin, I'll need more from this deal to agree for sure. And if what they say is true then they'll most likely agree to my demands" Now settled Zach sat back and brought out his counter proposal. Blaise smirked; Zach was definitely not a normal Hufflepuff. Back and forth they continued until at last just as the sun was setting and they were pulling into Hogsmeade they came to a deal. All that had changed was that Zach now also was going to get a Vampire lair of sorts down in the dungeons in an extremely old and unused area forgotten even by house elves and ghosts in case something went wrong and he needed to hide, and he was also getting a large supply of blood lollipops from Honeydukes. Also the only people Blaise could tell were Professor Snape, Draco and Pansy. All in all in Blaise's opinion the day had been highly productive and he couldn't wait to tell Draco and Pansy of what he had achieved.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story; all rights go to J.K Rowling for creating such a beautiful and amazing world.

The hastily repaired Hogwarts express groaned to a halt in Hogsmeade where it would inevitably rest until it was repaired. Aurors, nosy onlookers and some teachers stood waiting at the platform to see for themselves the wreckage. As students exited the train many gasps could be heard and whispers began in the crowd, many were sporting minor wounds that hadn't been seen as serious enough to heal in the battle. The students themselves were quiet still shaken by the attack and as such moved quickly to the awaiting carriages pulled by Thestrals which many students could unfortunately now see. Blaise and Zach hopped off the train near the back where there were few students who would notice them. Both still pondered their earlier agreement though for vastly differing reasons. Blaise thought triumphantly having secured the Hufflepuffs loyalty for at least the near future and had also gained some amount of control over him. Zach thought of his position, practically bound by his deal lest he be cast out of society or left to burn up in sunlight or perhaps die from the overwhelming amount of garlic there was in the schools feasts.

Blaise gave Zach a searching look before whispering into his ear "tomorrow meet me in the library at lunchtime and don't bring anyone" Zach nodded once before he went off in search of his friends from his own house. " _Crap I should have told him to watch out for changes. Then hopefully he's smart enough to recognise them"_ Blaise hadn't said but the reason he wanted to meet in the library was because on the 1st day of term no one would be there and he would be to get him the books needed on Vampires, particularly their weaknesses. With a sigh, something he'd been doing a lot lately he went off to find a carriage of his own. He gave one glance back and caught Zach doing the same; he offered a small barely visible smile which he received in turn before clambering into the carriage repeating his relatively new mantra "It'll turn out fine"

Zach walked away from Blaise intent on finding his friends. Blaise still confused him, he didn't have a problem with him and they weren't enemies but something still made him uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because he was a Slytherin and knew his newest and biggest secret or perhaps it was all the rumours that had been circulating about him and his family recently. Zach looked over his shoulder cautiously and locked eyes with Blaise who gave him a tiny smile. Feeling it would be rude not to return Zach gave a small smile though it was marginally bigger than Blaise's, it was probably just for appearances Zach decided. Zach heard a cry of delight and the moment he turned around he was assaulted by a face full of blonde hair and arms trapping him in a bone crushing hug. Somewhere behind the hair he heard a soft laugh.

"Hannah you're crushing him, let the poor man go" The hair shifted and he could see again and the arms let go setting him free.  
"Hey Hannah hey Susan" Zach said cheerfully. He had been travelling with them on the train but shortly after the attack happened he had lost them. Zach felt bad now for not looking for them but in the aftermath of the battle he had had more pressing matters to deal with. The girls responded equally cheerfully and soon had dragged him off to an empty carriage. As was their custom Zach sat on one side with the girls on the other, usually Zach would sit next to Ernie Macmillan but he wasn't attending Hogwarts anymore and had been transferred to Beauxbatons. They sat in a companionable silence as they waited for the carriage to begin moving each simply enjoying being back together after the fight on the train. The carriage began moving with a jolt its wooden wheels crunching the gravel a sound loud in the unusual quiet that had swept over the student body. Nearly all the students in the carriages had their eyes eagerly fixed on a point in the road where once past it would be possible to see the castle. As they rounded the corner the castle came into view and all three Hufflepuffs felt a sense of relief and calm spread through them, slowly around them conversations begun to spring up the sight of Hogwarts pushing away the fear and shock.

"So…" Hannah began "how was your summer?" Zach motioned for Susan to go first which she did happily launching into an explanation of her time off. Zach listened attentively intent on keeping his mind off of other matters. Susan had apparently had a great summer and had spent it out of the country visiting her cousins in Italy. When it came time for Zach to explain his he did so with so much faked enthusiasm he sent the girls into fits of laughter. Zach had stayed in muggle London virtually a prisoner of his own home until he found out how to key himself into the houses wards without his father finding out.

"How on earth were you able to bypass your fathers' wards?" Hannah and Susan asked in unison. Zach let out a small chuckle and began to explain.  
"It wasn't as difficult as you might think. All I had to do was go through the houses dusty old library and find a book on wards. Once I did that I just followed the instructions in the book and it was done" Susan nodded to herself, she had expected it would have been something like that. Hannah it seemed hadn't and had been expecting some exciting tale of sorts.  
"Wait it was really that easy?" Hannah blurted out a tad loudly causing students from other carriages to look over. Zach nodded.  
"I brought all the books I could with me from the library so I could show you if you like" Zach fished around in his pocket and drew out a tiny leather pouch no bigger than his palm. Hannah looked confused so Susan stepped in to explain.  
"An undetectable extension charm on the inside, a lightening charm and a shrinking charm as well, right?" Zach nodded again smiling, out of the three of them Susan was the smart one and while Hannah wasn't stupid, she was hopeless at charms. They then listened to Hannah's summer. Hers had been by far the best and worst. In the beginning she had travelled to America and had toured the country visiting both magical and muggle sights. It wasn't until she returned that her mother and she had found out that Death Eaters had destroyed their home and murdered Hannah's grandparents. It had made the Prophet as the wreckage surrounding the grandparents' house spoke of a large and long fight and in the end four Death Eaters had been killed and three injured that were arrested at the scene. Hannah had teared up and started crying when she told them and had to be comforted by Susan. Zach sat waiting patiently, Hannah was emotional and after six years you got used to her breakdowns. She had eventually come around and as they drew closer to Hogwarts's gates she was hastily brushing away her tears and blushing embarrassed at her break down. When she finally looked up at Zach she gasped and leant over to Susan and whispered in her ear. Zach was mildly annoyed at this especially since it was apparent they were talking about him.

"What is it, do I have something on my face?" he asked wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. Hannah shook her head.  
"No Zach, it's your eyes" He looked at her confused, what could be wrong about his eyes. Seeing that he didn't understand she continued "they're glowing slightly, I thought it had been a trick of the light but it's really noticeable now" Zach's breath caught in his throat panic and fear welled up in him and he stuttered as he tried to explain it without giving himself away.  
"I-I… I don't know what you're talking about" he finally said sounding a tiny bit defensive. Susan eyed him oddly sensing something was off and Hannah did too though she looked more relaxed now believing him to know nothing of it.

Susan retrieved her wand from her robes and conjured a small mirror which she handed to Zach who took it warily. Silently psyching himself up Zach brought the mirror up toward his face. " _Time to see if Vampires really can't see themselves in mirrors"_ he thought and then added as an afterthought " _or a vampire-to-be in my case"_ As the mirror came level with his face Zach opened his eyes which he hadn't realised he had closed and was shocked at what he saw. His normally friendly brown eyes that he had often been told gave of a sense of warmth and comfort were indeed glowing. Now they were bright and stood out on his face as a full moon stood out in the clear night sky. His shock must have shown on his face which seemed to alleviate some of his friend's unvoiced worries and silently he handed Susan back the mirror, which she promptly banished, and brought on hand up to touch his eyelids lightly before he looked at his friends not sure what to do. He knew he needed to make a cover story and quick and it had to be convincing so they would not look into it any further. Zach's mind raced as he sought a quick answer, he knew the glowing eyes were a sign of the vampire curse settling in, what surprised him was that despite knowing the consequences he was remarkably calm about the whole thing. His upbringing had taught him that Vampires were evil dark creatures that need to be kept away from society because they posed a danger to everyone. However in his readings at his summer homes rather old and untouched library he and found out that vampires were once considered as higher beings in the world a view some older families still believed. Still his own calmness at the situation scared him more than the curse itself. After the silence in the carriage stretched on for a little too long Hannah leaned forward and in a hushed tone said  
"Do you think it might have been some sort of spell?" Zach immediately jumped onto the idea saying he was hit with something on the train that didn't appear to have had an effect. He was doubly pleased when Susan joined in going through multiple charms and transfigurations that could have done it though none could see what its purpose could have been.

They continued to discuss his eyes for a while before deciding to cast a small easy glamour over them so other students wouldn't notice. From then on their conversation had drifted to other seemingly meaningless matters such as classes, Quidditch and eventually to the pre-school gossip. Apparently the Patil twins had been betrothed to two twins from France and were set to be married August the following year. Hannah and Susan had talked in great deal about that and Zach had participated from time to time. By the time their discussion had begun to hit a dead end they were pulling up at the school and exiting their carriage. The three Hufflepuffs walked across the bridge to the courtyard talking amiably the entire way, their gossip base renewed by eavesdropping on other students. The night air was chilly even for Scotland and so they pulled their robes tighter around themselves too lazy to cast a warming charm and walked faster to the schools front gates which stood wide open letting light flood out into the courtyard.

The hurried up the steps and into the entrance hall where they were hit with a sudden wave of warmth probably due to the roaring fire places and the generally close proximity of nearly all the students bodies. They pushed their way into the entrance hall and took their usual seats near the centre of Hufflepuff table. Zach was beginning to get extremely nervous thinking that if anyone could find out who he was it would be the Headmaster who seemed to know everyone's deepest fears and secrets. Hannah and Susan were also looking up at the high table where the teachers sat, searching for the new DADA teacher.

"Oh look we've got Professor Lupin again" Hannah exclaimed pointing at him. Zach turned to look at him and Professor Lupin seeming to feel his gaze turned and locked eyes with him. The moment their eyes met Zach knew something was wrong; Professor Lupin had stared blankly for a moment before he sniffed the air tentatively. Zach looked away hastily and tried to pretend like everything was normal. Zach knew from their previous classes that Werewolves have a very good sense of smell and are great at detecting magical creatures which is why the ministry in the past had so highly prized them, that is before all the anti-werewolf legislation has been passed. Moments passed and Zach tried to sneak another glance at the head table. His gaze once again met Professor Lupin's but this time it was not his professor's eyes he met. The eyes were bright amber that burned with a fierce intensity the only evidence that inside the slight man there was a savage beast. He gave another sniff before seeming to decide something and got up surprisingly swiftly though rather inelegantly and proceeded directly to the Headmaster. Zach felt his heart begin to race and under the table his hands shook slightly. He wasn't the only one to notice and looking around he could see many students watching the exchange as Professor Lupin whispered something in the Headmaster's ear. The Headmaster's expression turned to one Zach couldn't read and he didn't know if it was positive or negative expression either. The Headmaster turned to look at Zach after finishing his whispered discussion. Zach quickly averted his eyes to the table in front of him glad that no one was talking to him at the present so they wouldn't hear his voice which would surely have wavered.

His nerves were out of control. In the back of his head he could feel the Headmaster's gaze boring into him. " _The secrets out, I couldn't even last one day hell even one night"_ Zach thought despondently _"I'm going to be exiled, forced to live in dark places and drink the blood of animals just to stay sane. There's no way that Professor Dumbledore the leader of the light would keep something like me here, even if he keeps the werewolf"_ his thoughts continued in a similar manner and he became more and more nervous as the minutes slowly ticked on. The shaking in his hands was getting worse and even hidden under his robes he couldn't hide it fully.

Zach was about to stand up and leave to his dorms after stopping at the kitchens on the way there, the Great Hall's doors swung open and Professor McGonagall walked in followed by a small crowd of small eleven year olds all who were either in awe or scared or some combination of both. Zach swore to himself quietly so no one could here, he had missed his chance. McGonagall led the group up to the steps which led to the high table before conjuring a small three legged wooden stool and bringing out a scroll and the sorting hat from her robes. She put the hat on the stool and unrolled the scroll before explaining to the first years how the sorting ceremony would work. Afterwards after the hat's song, in her stern voice that seemed to frighten the first years almost as much as Professor Snape's continuous glare, she called them up one by one and they were sorted into their respective houses. Most students went to Gryffindor since with the war only the bravest chose to come back, and then in order it went Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

The Headmaster stood and quickly silenced the chatter that had spread throughout the room after the ceremony.  
"I would like to say a very warm welcome to our new students and welcome back to our returning students. Now before we start the feast I would like to point out that to new students, and to some older students" he said with a pointed look at Gryffindor "that the Forbidden forest is as its name suggests, forbidden. Also on Mr Filch's office door on the second floor there is an updated list of banned items. Now onto a more serious note" he paused for effect and surveyed the room garnering every student's attention though Zach was looking rather pointedly at his beard. "In light of recent events" No one needed telling what those events were "new security measures have been put into effect here. I do not want to worry or scare any of you, I simply ask that you keep an eye on your fellow classmates and report any odd behaviour to your head of house" he swept his gaze over the room lingering on Zach and the whole of Slytherin house.  
" _I think I understand why Blaise was worried now"_ Zach thought _"even Professor Dumbledore distrusts them"_ He continued,  
"By doing so you are doing your part in protecting the school and the entire wizarding world. Now enough with the sad stuff; let the feast begin" the Headmaster clapped his hands and instantly a grand buffet of food appeared filling the room with a vibrant mix of aromas. The silence that had pervaded through his speech was dispersed and conversation spread through the Great Hall. Zach looked at the food in front of him eagerly his hunger that was tolerable before now gnawing at his conscience. Zach reached for some roasted potatoes before it hit him. All around him he could smell garlic. The stench burnt his nostrils and the inside of his mouth and he could feel bile rising in his throat. Zach quickly grabbed some water and greedily gulped it down to settle his stomach. Now taking as much care as he could Zach loaded his plate with as much food as he could that didn't contain garlic which turned out to be only vegetables. Others around him noticed and looked at him weirdly.  
"Zach, why aren't you eating any of the meat?" Hannah asked her own plate containing nearly only meat. Zach panicked a feeling he was getting all too familiar with.  
"I err" he stuttered _"at this rate I'll be reported to Professor Sprout by the end of the feast"_ Zach looked around and his eyes landed on Susan's plate. "I decided on the holidays to try being a vegetarian like Susan and I decided I liked it, you really should try it sometime Hannah" Hannah mad a face at the thought while Susan beamed, she'd been trying to get them to do it for years. _"Great now I won't be able to eat meat ever again"_ Zach thought sullenly as he picked at the honeyed carrots wondering what else he won't ever be able to do.


End file.
